Vietnam’s trade deficit with China and several other countries are expected to widen in 2015, the latest customs data show.

The Southeast Asian country is forecast to log a US$32 billion deficit with China this year, compared to nearly $29 billion a year earlier, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

Vietnam’s monthly trade deficit with China was recorded at $2.6 billion over the last 11 months.

In the 11-month period, Vietnam’s imports from China topped $44.99 billion, up $5.44 billion from a year earlier, whereas exports stood at $15.5 billion, an increase of $2 billion.

Customs data for the Jan-Nov period showed that Vietnam also reported negative trade balances with such countries as Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

The deficit with Japan in 11 months widened to $230 million, whereas last year Vietnam enjoyed a surplus of nearly $2 billion to the East Asian country.

Vietnam’s Jan-Nov deficit with South Korea also jumped $4 billion from the same period last year to $17.28 billion.

Vietnam also posted negative trade balance with the ASEAN market, with consists of ten Southeast Asian countries including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

In the 11-month period, Vietnam suffered a $5.6 billion deficit with the ASEAN, while the last year figure was $4 billion.

The deficit with Thailand in 11 months was $4.2 billion, up $1.23 billion from a year earlier.

As of the middle of this month, Vietnam’s trade deficit topped $3.5 billion, while it enjoyed positive trade balances in the last three consecutive years.

The figure, however, was much lower than the $6 billion trade deficit forecast for Vietnam during a meeting of trade sector last year, according to The Saigon Times Online.

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